Heart of Ice
by AquiIae
Summary: Two years after the events of the game, Raven meets a ghost from his past that forces him to re-evaluate his life and priorities.


The sun set over Ostia, bathing its streets in a bright orange glow. Raven stood in one of the numerous alleyways that dotted the city, watching people from all walks of life hurrying about. His long grey robe flowed about with the wind, concealing the large dagger in his hand. His arms were shivering, his stomach churning with uncertainty, drops of nervous sweat forming on his brow. _It must be done_, he thought to himself. _There's no turning back now._

Raven watched as the crowds thinned out. The streets were mostly clear of traffic now, save the occasional straggler trying desperately to get home before nightfall. _Everything is proceeding according to plan_, he reassured himself. _When darkness falls, I can move unhindered, and I will finally be able to exact my revenge. _

Raven's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of footsteps. He could hear them growing clearer by the second. He tilted his head to locate the source of the disturbance. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a shadow moving against the wall, it's features almost indiscernible in the poor light. Raven could see the rough outline of a bow slung across its back, a quiver full of arrows at its waist. Raven clutched his dagger tightly, in anticipation of a possible attack.

"Raven? Is that really you?"

Raven's heart skipped a beat. The voice, though familiar, did not serve to reassure him at all. He forced a smile, turning his body around to regard the archer.

"Rebecca... I didn't expect to see you here."

The archer was clad in a heavy, grey uniform, with a blue sash sewn across it, marking her as one in service to House Pherae. She looked substantially different from when he last saw her. She seemed stiff and encumbered, her movement somewhat restricted by her outfit. Her twin braids were gone, her dark green hair now ending just above her shoulders. However, it appeared that her cheery demeanour had not left her, her voice retaining the same brightness from when they parted ways two years ago.

"Raven... I'm so glad you're alright! When we returned from the Dread Isle, you were nowhere to be found. We feared the worst..."

Rebecca shifted her gaze downwards, a pained look spreading across her face. "Your sister, Lady Priscilla... She refused to leave until you were found. She scoured every street and alleyway in Badon looking for you. She wanted to know her brother was safe, she didn't want to lose him again..."

Raven felt a pang of guilt cross his heart. He regretted leaving so suddenly at Badon. _If I stayed there for just a moment longer, perhaps it would not have come to this. _He bit his lip, trying to dispel the doubts that plagued him. _There's no turning back now_, he repeated to himself. _I can't involve anyone else in this... this cross is mine alone to bear._

"I had unfinished business," he replied curtly. "I had no desire to stick with Eliwood's entourage any longer than I needed to."

The disappointment on Rebecca's face was plain to see. She made to speak, her voice equal parts sad and angry. "What business could be so important as to justify leaving your own sister behind? What cause did you deem so important that no one need know about it?"

Raven turned away, wrapping his cloak around him even more tightly than before. "It is of no concern to you," he said impassively. "I'd suggest you hurry back to your liege now. We live in dangerous times right now, and it would not be proper of a retainer to neglect her duties so."

Raven's rebuff did not seem to dissuade Rebecca one bit, instead serving only to incense her even further. "Why are you doing this, Raven? Why do you insist on pushing away everyone who cares about you? You rejected Lord Hector's offer for recompense, left Lady Priscilla without saying goodbye, and now... you're trying to push me away as well?!"

Rebecca's voice was reduced to a whisper, her body quivering as she tried to keep her emotions under control. "You're just like everyone else... like Dan and Wil... like everyone I've ever known... left on some fool quest for glory, sparing not a single thought for those around them." Raven could see the tears welling up beneath her eyes, her once cheerful face twisted into an expression of grief. "I... I thought I was worth more to you than that..."

"I have no choice... I'm sorry, Rebecca, but I can't.." Raven's voice trailed off into the distance, and he unconsciously retreated backwards, shambling deeper into the alley, each footstep seemingly heavier than the last.

"No... don't!" Rebecca broke into a sprint, the sound of her thick leather boots reverberating throughout the alley. She caught up to Raven, and he could feel her gloves tightening around his shoulder as she tried to keep him from leaving. Raven reflexively twisted his body sideways, breaking free of her grip and causing her to fall backwards onto the floor. His cloak fell back behind his shoulders, revealing the dagger in his hand.

The blade glistened in the waning light, its shadow splayed against the wall of the alley for all to see. Rebecca was frozen to the spot in shock, her eyes wide open in an expression of fear and disbelief. _So it has come to this_, he thought.

"Back then... two years ago, on the Dread Isle... I told you about the destruction of my house at the hands of the Lycian Council. I assured you that my quest for revenge was over, that I bore no more hatred towards them." Raven tightened his grip around the dagger, its hilt slick with sweat. "That was a lie. Though Lords Darin and Helman were dead, and Lord Uther lay dying of illness, the main culprits were still alive. The Lords responsible for the downfall of House Cornwell... I could not let them get away with this crime. And that is why..."

Raven's eyes stared off into the distance, his face a mask concealing his true emotions. "Marquess Khathelet died by my hand. I was the assassin who killed him in his sleep." He scrunched his face up in agony, his look a mixture of sadness and frustration. "So please..." he pleaded, "Turn back now. Forget that this meeting ever took place.. for both our sakes."

Rebecca did not move from her spot, still in shock from the sudden revelation. When she made to speak, the fear in her voice was plain to hear. "Stop this, Raven... I know you're better than this. You can still seek redemption... Lord Hector and Lord Eliwood will surely pardon your crimes..."

"What's done is done," Raven intoned. "There is blood on my hands, and nothing I do can change that fact. I can turn back no longer." He hesitated for a moment, small beads of sweat forming at his brow and on his arms. "Marquess Araphen sleeps on the third floor of this guesthouse. His guards are lax in their duties, choosing instead to spend their time on dice and drink. When night falls, I will have my revenge. Only then... will I be at peace with myself."

Rebecca rose to her feet, her gait uncertain as she made to stand. "Stop this madness, Raven," she said, her voice more certain than before. "I can't bear to see you suffering like this. Stay your blade, and I can intercede with the lords on your behalf!"

"Don't you see?! I am a murderer now. There is no redemption for me. No other fate than death awaits me should I turn myself in. And that is why... there is no other path open to me." Raven's hands were shivering, his face unable to conceal the nervousness and regret that lay beneath.

"I won't allow this."

Rebecca gritted her teeth, and lunged toward him. Raven could feel her hands close around the hilt of the dagger, trying desperately to wrest it from his grasp. He instinctively held fast, both hands wrapped around his weapon in a vice grip to prevent it from slipping away.

"Let go... Raven..."

Rebecca's speech was punctuated with short breaths from her sudden exertion. Sensing an opportunity, Raven jerked the dagger away from her, and for a moment he managed to free it from the archer's grasp. Rebecca lunged forward yet again, but froze in the middle of her approach, as if an invisible force was preventing her from moving forward.

"Raven... please stop this... pl..e..ase.."

Rebecca stopped mid-speech, her voice replaced by bouts of coughing and choking. Raven could feel a wetness spread across his hands, a warm liquid flowing over the hilt of his dagger. He withdrew it quickly, dropping the weapon in shock. Rebecca crumpled onto Raven, her body wracked with spasms of pain. Her face had turned pale, a small trickle of blood running down the edge of her mouth.

Raven stood stunned, holding onto Rebecca and feeling the life drain from her body. Time stood still for a moment, the alleyway silent save the sound of Rebecca's laboured breathing. Raven thoughts turned to his past, to the many companions that fought alongside him. He thought of Lucius, who never stopped believing in the goodness of his heart. _He gave his life at Caelin.. so I could escape... so that I could live._ His thoughts turned to his sister, her forlorn look forever etched in the recesses of his mind. _She didn't give up on me either, always hoping that I would make it back safely, that her brother would be there for her. _

His thoughts turned to the archer in his arms. He remembered her bright smile and her cheerful demeanour. The figure in his arms was but a shadow of what he remembered. The warmth on her cheeks had left her, her once radiant countenance twisted with pain.

_It isn't right,_ he thought. It wasn't right that others be made to suffer for his actions. All he wanted was to relive those moments in his past, to douse the anger in his heart, to see his mother and father smile once more. Yet, he had inadvertently led others to the same fate. _First Lucius, and now Rebecca..._

He had tried to revive his parents, tried to help them as they lay dead, to no avail. And now, Rebecca teetered precariously on the brink of death, caught up in his selfish scheme to put the world to rights. Raven made his choice. He couldn't let the same fate befall those he cared about. He wouldn't allow it.

He set the archer down gently onto the cobbled path. He tore a piece of cloth from his cloak, and tied it around her abdomen, staunching the flow of blood to the wound. He cradled her in his arms and ran out onto the streets of Ostia, desperate to find a healer, praying that he would be able to make it in time to save her, praying that he would get to see her smile once more.

-oxo-

Rebecca awoke by the dawn's early light, opening her eyes to find herself in an unfamiliar room. She propped herself up on the bed, the pain in her side mostly gone, a dull ache all that remained of her close brush with death. Her uniform lay hanging by the side of the room, the once pristine garb stained with blood. In its place, she wore a simple tunic, its cloth slightly discoloured from contact with her bandage.

"You're awake. Finally..."

Raven was sitting at the edge of the bed, his eyes lined with dark circles, his chin covered with a thin layer of stubble. He looked relieved to see her, a sliver of a smile forming on his face.

"I rushed you to a cleric as soon as I could. She told me that you might not survive this injury, said that you might not live to see daybreak. I'm... I'm glad that this wasn't the case."

"And what of Marquess Araphen?" Rebecca inquired.

"He is unharmed. I spent the rest of the night tending to your wounds, lest your condition worsen during the night."

Rebecca could feel an odd sensation of warmth spread about her whole body. She heaved a sigh of relief, thankful that Raven did not follow through with his plan.

"Raven, I knew that deep down, you were a good person. I'm glad to see you happy... really glad.."

Rebecca could see a slight flush rising in Raven's cheeks, a fact that he desperately tried to conceal. She stifled a giggle as the mercenary averted his gaze, trying unsuccessfully to hide his embarrassment from her.

"So, where will you go now?" she inquired.

"I'll pay a visit to my sister, Priscilla. She deserves to know her brother is alive and well, and not on some silly quest for revenge." He smiled sheepishly at the thought, an expression he did not bother to hide.

"I'll come with you! That is, if you're willing to have me along..."

"I don't think that one pledged in service to Pherae would be free of her bonds that easily." Raven sighed. "I doubt that Lady Eleanora would release you from her service that willingly."

"The old hag hated me from the start. I'd imagine she'd be more than happy to release me from her service. My sudden absence last night should provide ample reason for her to get rid of me." Rebecca was positively beaming at the thought, delighted to be granted a chance to escape her miserable existence.

"Once I get rid of this uniform, then it'd be an adventurer's life for me! Life on the road, with only each other for company... It doesn't sound too bad, does it?" Rebecca let out a high pitched giggle, her voice no longer restrained by the code of etiquette she once followed.

"Well, I guess you shouldn't keep her waiting," Raven said, a rare smile on his face.

"Well, she's already waited the whole night for me, I don't see how a few more hours would make a difference. And besides..." Rebecca sidled closer to Raven, resting her head on his shoulder. "I wouldn't mind spending a bit more time here... with you... if you don't mind."

Raven leaned back against her, his expression now calm and serene. "You can stay here as long as you like," he replied. Rebecca watched the sunlight stream into the room, the early morning rays bringing respite to their weary souls. She closed her eyes, grateful that her friend had finally found peace.


End file.
